Bath tub seat



June 25, 1968 A. G. PEARSON 3,389,408

BATH TUB SEAT Filed Feb. 21, 1966 5' 6 INVENTOR.

m' g A ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,389,408 BATH TUB SEAT August G. Pearson, 1162 Jeannette, Des Plaines, 1!]. 60016 Filed Feb. 21, 1966, Ser. No. 529,026 7 Claims. c1. 4-185) This invention relates to improvements in bath tub seats and more particularly to an improved form of foldable seat attached to the side of a bath tub and the like.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide an improved form of foldable seat for use on a bath tub, and arranged with a view toward positive detachable support on the tub and utmost simplicity and efficiency in construction.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved form of sanitary seat for bath tubs readily clamped to a side wall of the tub for movement into an operative position over the top of the side wall of the tub and foldable into an inoperative position downwardly along the side wall of the tub.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a simple and improved form of bath tub seat supported on a side wall of the tub for hinging movement downwardly along the outside of the side wall when not in use and along the top of the side wall over the tub when in use, having a simple and improved form of clamping structure for clamping the seat to the side wall of the tub by relative slidable movement of two support members for the seat toward each other into clamping engagement with the inner and outer sides of the side wall of the tub.

These and other objects of the invention will appear from time to time as the following specification proceeds and with reference to the accompanying drawings where- FIGURE 1 is a generally diagrammatic top plan view of a seat constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention, showing the seat mounted on the side wall of a bath tub, shown in phantom, and in an operative position extending inwardly of the side wall of the tub over the tub;

FIGURE 2 is a view in side elevation of the seat shown in FIGURE 1, mounted on a side wall of a bath tub;

FIGURE 3 is an end view of the seat shown in FIG- URE 2 looking at the seat from the outside thereof;

FIGURE 4 is a view in side elevation of the seat shown in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3 showing the seat folded downwardly along the side wall of a tub, with the seat and support therefor in vertical section;

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken substantially along line VV of FIGURE 4 with certain parts shown in full and showing the clamping and support parts for the seat in their clamped positions; and

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view somewhat similar to FIGURE 5, with certain parts removed, and showing the clamping and support parts in partially clamping positions.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the drawings, I have shown in FIGURE 1 a bath tub 10 in phantom having a seat 11 clamped to an outer side wall 12 of the tub and in position to extend inwardly of said side wall over the tub, to accommodate an individual to sit on the seat with the feet on the outside of the tub. The seat and clamping structure therefor, however, ,may be reversed on the side wall of the tub to accommodate a person to sit on the seat with the feet within the tub.

The seat 11 is supported and mounted on the side wall of the tub by means of a clamp 15 comprising an outer angled clamping and support member having a depending clamping leg portion 16 extending along the outside of the tub and a right angled support portion 17 extending over the top of the sidewall of the tub. The right angled 3,389,408 Patented June 25, 1968 support portion 17 extends over and has interengagement with a support 20 having a depending clamping leg 19 extending downwardly within the tub along the inner side of the side wall of the tub. The support and guide 20 rests on the top of the side wall of the tub and forms a support for the right angled support member 17.

As shown in FIGURES 2, 4, 5 and 6 the support and guide portion 20 has a plurality of upwardly opening gibbed guides 21 extending therealong longitudinally of the side wall of the tub and having gibs 22 projecting inwardly of the upper ends thereof and adapted to engage inwardly extending lower gibS 23 of gibbed guides 24, depending from and extending along the support portion 17. The gibbed guides 22 and 24 extending longitudinally along the supports 20 and 17 are shown in FIGURES 5 and 6 as extending angularly with respect to the side wall of the tub at a relatively fiat angle and at the same angle. The leg 16 will thus move inwardly toward the tub as the gibbed guides 24 are engaged with the gibbed guides 21 from an end thereof and the support 17 is moved along the support portion 20. Movement of the member 17 along the member 20 from the open ends of the guides 21 at the ends of said guides spaced farthest from the outer side of the side wall of the tub, will thus draw the leg 16 into firm engagement with the side wall of the tub and hold the leg in engagement therewith and firmly clamp the seat to the tub. A wing nut 25 may be threaded in a depending gibbed guide 24 into engagement with an upwardly extending gibbed guide 21, to positively retain the clamp in position on the tub if desired. It has been found, however, the frictional resistance between the gibbed guides is sufiicient to hold the members 17 and 20 fromrelative movement with respect to each other and firmly clamp the seat to the tub in most. instances.

The right angled support member 17 is shown as having a central relatively wide lug 26 extending outwardly and upwardly therefrom and forming a mounting for a pivot pin 27 extending to opposite sides thereof, within spaced ears 29, 29 extending from the seat 11 along opposite sides of the lug 26. The lug 26 and pivot pin 27 thus space the body of the seat 11 above the top of the support 17, to accommodate said seat to be pivoted upwardly and inwardly of the tub and rest on the top of the support 17.

The seat 11 is shown in FIGURES 1 2 and 3 as including a pair of parallel spaced contoured supports 30 contoured to generally conform to the seat of the body of a human being, and open in the space over the tub and having a recessed portion 31 therebetween extending along the support 17.

It may be seen from FIGURE 4 that when the seat is not in use, it may readily be folded along the outer side of the tub in an inconspicuous position and that when it is desired to use the seat it need only be turned in a clockwise direction from the position shown in FIG- URE 4 to that shown in FIGURE 2.

It may further be seen that the clamping device may be positioned to position the seat to extend over the tub or outside of the tub and that the seat may readily be removed from the tub by mere sliding movement of the parts of the clamp relative to each other in a direction to cause the leg 16 to diverge from the side wall of the tub.

While I have herein shown and described one form in which the invention may be embodied, it may readily be understood that various variations and modifications in the invention may be attained without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts thereof.

I claim as my invention:

1. A bath tub seat adapted to fit over the side of a bath tub and the like comprising,

a clamp resting on the top of a side wall of the tub and including two clamping parts relatively movable with respect to each other to clampingly engage the inner and outer sides of the side wall of the tub,

a seat pivoted to one of said clamping parts for movement about an axis extending longitudinally of and above the tub and positionable about said longitudinally extending axis to extend over the tub for use and to depend along the outside of the tub when not in use.

2. The structure of claim 1,

wherein the clamp has a lug extending from one of said clamping parts outwardly of the side wall of the tub and upwardly therefrom,

wherein the seat has lugs extending along opposite sides of said lug,

wherein a hinge pin extending through said lugs pivotally mounts said seat on said clamping part,

and wherein the seat is supported on said clamping parts when in its operative position and includes two spaced contoured supports extending over the tub.

3. The structure of claim 1,

where-in each clamping part is in the general form of an angle, each having a depending leg extending along one side of the side wall of the tub, and having a right angled support portion, and said support portions having slidable interengaging connection with each other to clamp said depending legs to the side Wall of the tub upon movement of one part relative to the other.

4. The structure of claim 1, in which the clamp comprises:

two slidable interengaging clamping parts each of which has a depending leg, one of which legs engages the outside of the side wall of the tub and the other of which legs engages the inside of the side wall of the tub,

wherein said legs have right angled support members lapping each other and supporting the seat on the top of the side wall of the tub when in its operative position,

and wherein the right angled support members have inter-engaging guides extending therealong in angular relation with respect to the side wall of the tub, each of said guides extending at the same angle and 45 HAROLD J. GROSS,

prises:

two slidable interengaging right angled members having depending legs extending along opposite sides of a side wall of the tub and horizontally extending supports supported one on top of the other along the top of the tub,

one of said supports having upwardly opening gibbed guides extending therealong at an angle with re spect to the side wall of the tub and the other of said horizontal support legs having downwardly opening gibbed guides extending therealong at the same angle as said upwardly opening guides and engageable with said upwardly opening guides from an end thereof, and eflYecting clamping of said depending legs to the side wall of the tub by movement of one member relative to the other along said guides.

6. The structure of claim 5,

wherein one of said right angled supports has a lug extending upwardly and outwardly therefrom,

wherein the seat extends along opposite sides of said and wherein a hinge pin pivotally mounts said seat to said lug in position to depend along the side wall of the tub when not in use and to be hinged upwardly over said supports when in use.

7. The structure of claim 6,

wherein the seat has .a generally recessed central portion extending for a short portion of the length thereof and has contoured supports extending along opposite sides of said support portion from said hinge pin and beyond said support portion, to form an opening therebetween.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 766,320 8/1904 Brown. 2,142,434 1/1939 Bentz 4-185 2,896,895 7/1959 Speese 248-226 3,289,217 12/1966 Glover 4-485 Primary Examiner. 

1. A BATH TUB SEAT ADAPTED TO FIT OVER THE SIDE OF A BATH TUB AND THE LIKE COMPRISING, A CLAMP RESTING ON THE TOP OF A SIDE WALL OF THE TUB AND INCLUDING TWO CLAMPING PARTS RELATIVELY MOVABLE WITH RESPECT TO EACH OTHER TO CLAMPINGLY ENGAGE THE INNER AND OUTER SIDES OF THE SIDE WALL OF THE TUB, A SEAT PIVOTED TO ONE OF SAID CLAMPING PARTS FOR MOVEMENT ABOUT AN AXIS EXTENDING LONGITUDINALLY OF AND ABOVE THE TUB AND POSITIONABLE ABOUT SAID LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING AXIS TO EXTEND OVER THE TUB FOR USE AND TO DEPEND ALONG THE OUTSIDE OF THE TUB WHEN NOT IN USE. 